WILMA Leadership Initiative Updates
The latest on WILMA’s fall leadership programs
RECAP: The latest on the WILMA Leadership Initiative and its mission to empower women to lead with confidence and purpose
ALUM ANNIVERSARY: To mark the tenth anniversary of launching the WILMA Leadership Initiative in 2015, we invited alum of the programs to come together and reconnect. Held on the eve of the annual Leadership Accelerator conference, former WILMA Institute grads, Awards finalists, and others from over the years spent time together at Ironclad Brewery in downtown Wilmington.
LEADERSHIP ACCELERATOR: The next day, WILMA’s annual leadership conference took place July 24 at the Wilmington Convention Center. The half-day event brought together nearly 500 people to hear workshops on emotional intelligence, wealth building, communications, and speed mentoring as well as messages from keynote speakers connected to WILMA Leadership over the past decade. For an excerpt of one of those speeches, click here. For more photos, click here.
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: This year’s WILMA’s Leadership Institute class continued to meet for monthly skills training on topics including leading in multigenerational workplaces and leading with resilience. Learn more about the forty-eight women in this year’s cohort at wilmamag.com/women-to-watch/wilmas-leadership-institute.
WILMA NETWORK: The WILMA Network, made up of supporting members of the Leadership Initiative, holds monthly meetups such as networking time at Social Coffee and a golf outing at First Tee of Greater Wilmington.
UP NEXT: How to connect with WILMA’s leadership programs
WOMEN TO WATCH AWARDS: This year’s awards event is September 5 at the Wilmington Convention Center. Winners in the categories of Arts, Business, Education, Health, Nonprofit/Volunteer, Public Sector, Rising Star, and WILMA Icon will be announced.
MENTORING: As a part of WILMA’s mentoring program, up-and-coming women in the community are matched with women and men mentors to assist with their leadership development. Participation in the program is limited to those who participated in a WILMA Leadership program in the past year, and the mentorship will run from October 2025 to September 2026.
BOARD TRAINING: A fall Get on Board workshop is planned for women wanting to join local boards of directors and committees. Sarah Daniels, director of UNCW’s Quality Enhancement for Nonprofit Organizations (QENO), will facilitate the training.
IN THE LOOP: Keep up to date with these and other Leadership Initiative programs as well as application announcements by going to WILMAmag.com or signing up for the WILMA Leadership email at WILMAmag.com/email-newsletter.
To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.
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